Method and apparatus for making building products



T. ROBINSON June 11, 1929.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING PRODUCTS Filed Sept 14, 1926 titw-a l Armmw' apparatus by which a building to be exposed to the weather is then covered 4o have a tendency to warp and curl, thus giv- Patented June 11, 1929.

THOMAS ROBINSON, 0F YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOR 'ro LANCASTER ASPHALT, INC.

METHOD AND AYPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING PRODUCTS.

Application filed September 14, 1926. Serial No. 135,327.

This invention relates to the manufacture of prepared building products suitable for roofing, siding, to do more particularly with a method and product of novel form can be produced cheaply and at a high rate of output. The improved product is particularly useful as a roofing to be used in place of ordinary wooden shingles or of prepared roofings for this purposeas heretofore constructed, but the utility of the product is by no means limited to this" particular use, and it is of wide application for construction purposes.

Owing to the scarcity and high cost of wooden shingles and their lower fire reSist ance, such materials are being displaced rapidly by prepared roofings which are made in numerous ways. The product which is at present in widest use for-the purpose is the so-called felt roofing which includes a base of felt made of rags, burlap, and the like, which is impregnatedso as. to render it waterproof by saturation with bituminous products, such as asphalt; The felt thus treated is then given a coating of asphalt.

which is of a higher melting point than that used as a saturant, so that the coating layer will readily withstand solar heat. Usually the surface of the roofing which is with a layer of granular "mineral material, such as crushed slate and the like, which gives the material a high fire resistance.

This felt product, while in general satisfactory, is objectionable in that when it is used in the form of strip shingles which are laid in courses on the roof and have tabs which simulate the appearance of single shingles, these tabs in the course of time may ing the roof an unsightly appearance an in some cases making it leaky. Also the felt which is used as the main element in this product is relatively expensive.

The present invention is accordingly directed to the provision of an improved build ing material which is made by a continuous process so that there is produced a sheet of section appropriate for the purpose to which the material is to be put, and this sheet is cut into units of appropriate'eizei and other purposes, and has indefinite length which may be given a cross-- The plastic mass of whichthe new ma terial is principally composed may be made of numerous materials, but I prefer to employ a plastic mass consisting of a binder and an aggregate. There are various binders suitable for the purpose, such as bituminous roducts of the type of asphalt, ce-

ments 0 different kinds, and the like, and the aggregate which I prefer 'touse may con-y sist of crushed mineral 'matter, such as crushed slate, gravel, etc., or may consist of asbestos sand, fibrous asbestos, wood waste,"

such as sawdust, ground cork, and numerous other materials 'of this kind. This plastic mass is introduced by an'extr'usion operation into the jacket which is preformed.- The jacket preferably consists of a flexible fibrous sheet, such as heavy paper, which may be impregnated so as to render it waterproof. This paper is preferably in the form of a web wound into a roll and prior to its winding on the roll, or just before it is moved to receive the plastic material, the web is folded lengthwise so as to form a generally v I V-shaped channel. This web is moved in the direction of its length past an extrusion mechanism by which the plastic material is introduced in the. fold simultaneously from substantially the bottom thereof to the desired height, the web thus acting as a mold for the plastie'material and also becoming a component part of the final product. .The plastic filler is introducedinto the web in a relatively fluent condition and preferably through extrusion orifices which deliver a,

plurality of rod-like masses of the plastic;

compound. These masses are discharged into the fold in the web and the latter is then moved through rolls'which consolidate the several masses Into a single core and also tend to shape the product. Beyond the first (1 rolls the edges of the ja'cket'are folded to cover the'mass contained between the plies of the web, and then the web and its contents are given a final shaping treatment. Thereafter, various other 'operatlons may-be per-- formed on the moving web to complete'the product, including the application of'coating material and its cutting into pieces of desired lengths.

For a better understanding of the inven-' tion reference 'may'be had to the accompanymg drawings, in which made of the new product with the different layers broken away for purposes of illustration,

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view on the line 9''-9 of Fi 8,

Fig. 10 is a ace viewof asingle shingle of somewhat modified construction, and Fig. 11 is a sectional view on the-line 11-11 ofFig. 10.

Referring to these drawings, the new product which is shown in Fig. 8 in the form of a strip shingle, is illustrated as consisting of a plastic core 20, here molded to ta- .p'ered section. This core may be produced as-prev-iously mentioned of numerous materials, and preferably includes a plastic binder which has a tendency to become hard on setting and an aggregate mixed with the binder. "The binder may consist of numerous substances such as asphalt and the like, asphalt being the product Iprefer to use because of its cheapness and ease of procurement, and alsoon account of the fact that it may be handled without difliculty. The solid material which is employed with the asphalt may consist of granular mineral products, such as crushed slate,- crushed granite, and the like, or it may consist of asbestos sand, infusorial earth, wood cut tings, such as sawdust, or ground cork or asbestos. Asbestos sand, which is a commercial roduct consisting of fine asbestos mixed with some gangue, is highly desirable for the purpose. This plastic mixture serves as a core for the new material audit is encased within a jacket sheet 21 which prefer- -ably is made of a cheap paper which may or may notbe impregnated to render it waterproof. After the core and its jacket are combined and given they roper shape, the jacket may be encased wit llIl a coating layer 22, which is preferably of a relatively high melting point asphalt. This completely seals the jacket and core, protecting them against the weather, and also serves as an adhesive by which a layer 23 of mineral material, such as crushed slate or the like, may be atlixed to the element so as to give it the usual weather surface.

The new material is produced by the process presentl to be described in the form of a web of in efinite length, and this web may be given the tapered section illustrated in Fig. 9, or the opposite faces of the material the element when laid. The material may also be made in the form of the singleshingle illustrated in Fig. 10, or in the form of the strip shingle shown in Fig. 8. The strip shingle has a length corresponding to three or more single shingles and is provided with cut-out notches 24 along the thick edge, these notches extending inwardly at right angles to the edge so as to define spaced tabs \Vhen a plurality of such elements are laid on a roof in the usual manner in courses, with the elements of one course partially overlapping those of the course beneath, the rear ends of the notches are concealed and the roof appears to be made of a plurality of spaced single shingles. \Vhile the product is illustrated in that adaptation. which is primarily useful for roofing purposes, it will be understood that it may be made in numerous other forms suitable for siding and the like.

In the production of the new material the process employed involves the formation of a jacket preferably by folding a web of jacket material lengthwise to provide a channel defined by two plies of the web, these plies extending generally vertically. The folded web is then moved longitudinally with a continuous movement and during such movement the filling material is introduced into the space between the plies of the web by an extrusion 03eration. The filled web is then formed to t is desired shape and succeeding operations are performed on ,it while it continues in movement.

' The apparatus employed for carrying out the process is illustrated in one form in Fig. 1. This apparatus includes extrusion mechanism generally designated 26, which consists of a hopper 27 having a central 'partition 28. At one side of this hopper is introduced the plastic material, as, for instance, at 29, while the solid substance which is to be mixed with the plastic compound is introduced in the pocket 30. At the lower end of the hopper and in communication therewith, is a casing 31 containing a shaft 32 mounted on suitable hearings in any convenient manner and connected to a suitable source of power, not shown. This shaft carries beater blades 33 beyond the .end of the hopper and the plastic and solid compounds flowing into the casing are rapidly agitated end having a V-shaped section to conform.

' discharged.

The jacket, which consists of paper or the like, is in the form of a web which is folded lengthwise and in this double form wound about a drum 36 mounted on a vertical shaft 37. This double web is led from the drum with the edges of the plies uppermost, the web being guided by means of vertical rollers 37. A central roller 38 mounted in any convenient manner lies between the plies so as to spread them apart and the lower end of the discharge extension 35 lies just beyond the rollers 37 and. 38 between the plies. This extension is provided with an inclined surface 39 forming a discharge nozzle having openings 40 and these openings may be all of the same size, but spaced at varying distances, as illustrated in Fig. 5, or the openings may diminish in size from top to bottom, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The plastic mixture consisting of the binder and the solid material is continuously forced through the discharge nozzle by the action of the screw conveyor, and there are thus delivered into the space between the plies of the web a plurality of rods of plastic material, one above the other. The rate of discharge of the material into the web and the size of the rods delivered from the dis charge orifices are properly proportioned so that the quantity of plastic material fed into the web will be sufiicient to provide a core of the section necessary in accordance with the type of material to be produced. This plastic compound is preferably discharged in a relatively fluent condition, so that the sevplral rods have a tendency to flow toget er.

Passing beyond the discharge nozzle, the web with the plastic mixture between its plies, is then led through forming or shaping rollers 41, which are on inclined vertical axes and act to consolidate the core and also to give the product the desired shape. These rollers ma be mounted either on inclined axes, as il ustrated, or else the rollers may be on vertical axes, but witha pass of the proper shape between them formed by cha-n neling'the faces of the rollers.

The amount of plastic material introduced into the mold formed by the web is such as not to completely fill the web, the edges thereof extending beyond the core. These edges are to be wrapped around one end of the core, as illustrated at'42 and 43 (Fig. 9) and for this purpose a pair of rolls 44, 45, are employed which act on the edges of the web,'consecutively turning it in in the manner illustrated. Beyond the rolls 44 and 45 the jacket with the core is assed through a second pair of forming roll s 46which shape the material to its final form. Beyond these rolls the web of material is moved through turning and guiding rolls 47, 48, which give the web a quarter turn so that from this point it proceeds ina horizontal position. Y

In the event that the stri shingle illustrated in Fig. 8 is to be proc need, the next operation performed on the material is the formation of the cut-out notches, and this is done by means-of upper and lower coacting cutters 49 which have cutting means"- excising narrow strips of the material from one edge thereof.

Beyond the cutting rolls the material is given a coating of Water-resistant substance,-

preferably a high melting point asphalt. This material is discharged upon the web by means of a nozzle 50 and the excess runs into a jvat 51. Roller's'52 and 53, the lower a a roll 53 runningin the material in the'va-t, provide a means for applying the coating to the lower'face of the web. At a point beyond the coating apparatus means are proj vided for applying the facing -ma,t er1alwhich may be a granular substance, suilh as slate, or the lil; This apparatus is illustrated in conventional form as consisting of upper and lower rolls 54 and 55, with a hopper 56 by which the granular substance is distributed on the material to be embedded by the action of the rolls. Beyond the rolls 54 and 55, the material passes through a cutting mechanism conventionally illustrated as consisting of a revolving shaft 57 with cutters 58 which strike the'material and sever it into the desired lengths.

'The acpparatus is illustrated and above somewhat conventionally, and it" describe will be understood that the spacing of the different elements which act on the material will be such as to permit the material to set so that it has the necessary mechanical stren h to withstand the treatment which it un ergoes. Also it will be noted that the 'GXliIllSlOIl mechanism is provided with a steam jacket 59 which may be necessary in some instances to heat the mixture and maintain it inthe plastic condition, although asphalt in some forms may be extruded at a relatively low temperature.

.Insteadof folding the web lengthwise to form the jacket and then mountingthis folded web on a drum fromwhich it is led to the filling mechanism, the apparatus illusj trated in Fig. 7 may be employed, in which the web 60 is mounted in flat form on a drum or spindle, being thenled over a' guiding roll 61 and between guide rolls 62 and 63. ,Small rollers 64 and 65 suitably -mounted press against the web along its central axis and .depress .the web so as to give it the desired lengthwise folding. When the'web is' folded to the desired shape by such'rolls, it

passes the discharge nozzle of the extrusion mechanism and receives the core in the manner previously described.

While the product illustrated in Fig. 9 is suit-able for numerous purposes, in some instances it may be desirable to make a product which, when laid with others in course, will give the roof the appearance of being covered with shingles or roofing elements of unusually heavy butt. For this purpose one ply of the web is folded upon itself to form a flap, as illustrated at 66 in Fig. 11. This folding of the web can be done either prior to the mounting of the wob.on the drum 37, or may be formed by appropriate folding means when the fiat web is drawn off the drum, as illustrated in Fig. 7 By providing the flap along one ply of-the web, t 1e roofing product is given a., transverse layer of increased thickness and this layer 67 is placed at that part of the element which is normally overlain by the elements of the course above. The butt edge of the elements in the upper course are placed in registry with the lower end of this band of increased thickness so that the butts of the elements of the upper courseare thus raised considerably above the plane of that part of the face of the element designated 68. This gives the ing unusually thick, and increases their butts of the elements the appearance of bemarketability.

The product produced by the new apparatus may be made in either light or heavy weights by a proper selection of the filler, as, for instance, when a heavy product is to be made the filler preferably used will contain sand or crushed mineral material, whereas when a light weight product is de sired, the solid material may be ground cork, sawdust, asbestos, and the like.

The rolls which are employed for shaping and compressing the core may be steam heated if desired, so that the mass may be extruded at a relatively low temperature and then compacted by rolls which impart sufiicient heat to the mass to render it fluent to the desireddegree. When the mass is extruded in a somewhat plastic condition, the fluidity of the'binder and the fact that the jacket is being moved along in a vertical position will result in .a concentration of the solid material in the narrow end of the product. This increases the density of this part of the core and the product consequently has a substantially uniform rigidity because the thinner part of the core contains material of greater density than the thicker part. .The same result follows when the solid material, used in the core is lighter than the binder, for under these conditions the solid material will have a tendency to remain in suspension near the upper end of the roduc't as it is being roduced and the bind r, whichis heavy, wi be concentrated tion of the shaping pressure for the channelbetween the plies of the product at the point where the material is introduced into it is considerably thicker than it is in the final form of the product. Accordingly, the shaping rolls exert a considerable pressure 011 the roller edge of the jacket, compacting and solidifying the plastic material within the jacket at this part of the core to a greater extent than that near the free edges of the web. This again results in a material which has a core of greater density along the thin edge than atthe thick edge and the rigidity, being dependent on the density of the core, will be substantially the same from one, end to the other, although the thickness of the core varies. Owingto this action of the roll in compacting the material, it is evident that the same result will be obtained, whether or not the material passes between the rolls in a horizontal or vertical position. It will be apparent from the foregoing that the new process and apparatus permits the production of this building material at a rapid rate and at a low output cost because the process is a continuous one and need not be interrupted for any considerable periods of time. When one roll of the jacket is exhausted, another one'will be placed in position and the end of one roll will be connected to the other so that the feeding is continuous. The introduction of the material by an extrusion operation permits the jacket to be completely filled and the material to be distributed in the jacket so that the shaping o erations performed on the ma terial therea 'ter are relatively simple. As here'illustrated, the product is shown as being made of tapered section, but it is evident that by proper shaping of the rolls it is possible to produce the material in a relatively flatv form, the opposite main faces of faces, if desired, or the material may be applied to one face and a non-stick material,

such as talc, may be applied to the other. The process which involves the production of a pre-shaped acket which then receive's a filling extruded into the jacket, with the jacket acting as a mold during the process of formation of the core, permits the product to bemade very cheaply and as the product contains no expensive elements, such as felt, it is evident that.1ts cost for material is much lower than in the manufacture of the present prepared roofings or other building products of this character. Furthermore, by the employment of the extrusion process for introducing the plastic material into the web or jacket simultaneously from substantially the bottom thereof to the desired height, the handling of the core material in plastic condition is greatly facilitated, and a proper distribution of it is made possible. By proper selection of the extrusion nozzles and the rate at which the extrusion mechanism is operated, the Web may be filled with the plastic material in such amounts as are required and this material may be distributed evenly or in rods of varying sizes which are suitable for filling a web of tapering cross section.

I claim: 1. Apparatus for making building prodnets and the like which comprises means for maintaining a folded web in motion, an extrusion devlce operable to introduce a plastic mass into the space between thefplies of the 2. A method of making building material,

which comprises moving a longitudinally folded sheet lengthwise, simultaneously extruding a filling material into the fold from substantially the bottom thereof to the desired height, applying pressure on the filling material within the fold tocompact it, and

cutting the filled web into selected lengths;

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

THOMAS ROBINSON. 

